


Three Dates

by WhatifStoryTeller



Category: Fairy Tail
Genre: Alternate Universe - Gender Changes, Awkward Dates, Bets & Wagers, Childhood Sweethearts, F/M, Fem!Natsu, Female Natsu, First Dates, Friendship/Love, Genderbending, Gratus, Jealousy, Love Confessions, Reverse Harem, Rivalry, Second Chances, Secret Admirer, Unrequited Love, genderbent, love square
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-08-21
Updated: 2015-03-01
Packaged: 2018-02-14 02:05:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 14,137
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2173932
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WhatifStoryTeller/pseuds/WhatifStoryTeller
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"We can't all have her, nor share her. We'll have two dates each, and whoever gets a third, offered by her, will win her." Sting, Gray and Gajeel bet on Natsa's (Fem!Natsu) heart. They all have two chances with her, but who will get a third? The Icemaker? White Dragon? Black Steel? Hopefully Pinky doesn't find out about this bet, or else their chances of staying with her will be zero.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Trio of Lovers

The bartender turned on the overhead lights and the customers growled at the unsuspected light. They complained and grunted at the bearded bartender. He just clicked his tongue and went on doing his job. He served drinks left from right. He gathered three cups of sake and went out behind the counter to a nearby table. "Here's your sake."

"Thanks," the blonde grabbed his cup. The bartender handed the other drinks to the other two at the table and returned to his spot at the counter. Blondie took a slip of the sour drink. His face puckered up from the taste.

The black haired, who sat across from the blond, gulped the drink down and snickered at the blonde. "Aren't 'ch a bit young for this?"

Blondie wrinkled his nose at the smell of the sour drink, but he took a larger gulp. He regretted it imminently as the sake touched his tongue. Once the sake poured down his throat, he wiped his tongue from the after taste of the drink.

"Calm down," the raven haired patted the blonde's back. He took a small slip of his drink and lay it back down on the table. "He's only trying to taunt you," he stared at the boy with black spiky hair.

The blonde glared across the table at the snickering older male. "Can we get back to business?" he asked sarcastically to the black haired; who just nodded in return. "We can't all have her."

The raven haired glanced at the black haired, "Nor share her."

"Yeah," the black haired rolled his eyes. He only suggested that for a joke but the other two were taking it too seriously; even though it did solve the problem. Not like they would listen to his plans in the first place. He took another gulp and returned the cup back onto the table; waiting for the blonde to continued his so-called plan.

The blonde tilted his cup as if the containment would disappear. "What about we all three get two chances with her."

"But we all can't have her," the raven haired repeated the blond's words from earlier in a mocking manner.

The raven-haired listened closely as the blonde uttered his next words. "We all have two dates. Just two. Whoever is able to get a third...when she offers it, gets her..."

"...the other two back away," the black haired finished. He empty his cup of sake and looked at the other two to see if they understood. The blonde glared at the black haired for finishing his sentence, but eventually he calm since the black haired understood where he was coming from, and not suggesting any more vivid plans. Such as having a foursome.

"There should be rules," the raven haired stated. His finger went up as if to emphasis that point.

"But do we agree to this first?" the blond questioned. They all three put their hands in the middle of the table; almost spilling the cups of sake on the table. Sting opened his mouth again while looking at his full cup, "Okay, so I will ask her ou-"

"Who says you get to ask her first?" Gray grunted. They never established that or anything like that. If anyone is going to get her first, it was going to be him; her childhood friend.

"I was the one who made the plans," Sting argued as his shoulders raised.

"Those lame plans," Gajeel rolled his eyes,"I agree with Icehead. I will go first."

Gray had his hands around his cup, "I've never say anything about you going first, because I am." He stood from the table and took the chance to get to Natsa before any of them. He ran out of the door and the other two followed him closely behind. They yelled at Gray from behind, but he didn't look back. He was focus on getting to the guild before them.

"Gray-san! You forgot! No one is faster than the speed of light!" Sting raced forward with a smug look on his face. Behind him was a trail of light beams.

"You idiot! Don't use science in a world of magic!" Gajeel raced forward as he used his magic. He created steps in front of him and increased his speed as he jumped from one iron plate to the other.

Gray froze the path ahead of him and slide down the ice forward. He jumped on the sheet of ice that covered a car and slide down with his shoes. Behind him, he send ice sparkles to move him forward on the ice sheet. He ended up running next to Gajeel, yet still behind Sting.

...

"Natsa-san! I'm here!" Sting gasped as the doors slammed inward.

"Sting-kun?" Mira questioned as she saw Sting race forward. She tilted her head, "This isn't your guild." But he was already pass her and didn't even hear her soft voice. She looked behind him where Gajeel and Gray were following. They passed her with a gust of wind, iron, and ice behind them. She could only guess as to what they were in a hurry for.

Natsa turned around as Sting appeared right in front of her. Her jaw dropped from surprised of the appearance of the blonde; who she was not suspecting any time soon. Last she heard from the yellowed haired was at the Grand Magical Games Feast, which was longer than a month ago. "Eh...Sting?"

"Natsa-san! You're here!" he cheered in delight. He glanced back and seen the other two, so he hurried up and asked, "Will you go out with me tomorrow?"

"Uh...sure, I guess," she accepted with a shrug of her shoulders. She had no clue what he was meaning about so she just accepted. Maybe it was a fight? Or something to do with food. She had no clue, but accepted anyways.

"Yeah!" Sting roared. He cheered and the two behind him dropped to the ground; defeated.

"I'm gonna..." Gajeel started. His teeth gritted as his hands clawed into the floorboards.

"...kill him," Gray finished. He laid his head on the ground and cursed Sting for using his magic against him. Why must Dragon Slayers be so fast? Even using his Ice Magic, he was a good mile away from the Light Dragon Slayer.

"Beat ya!" the blond shouted with his arms raised in the air. It was as if he just won a victory in the Grand Magical Games.

"There was a race? Why wasn't I invited?" Elfman grumbled. He crossed his arms and squinted his eyes at the younger children.

Lisanna giggled and leaned on the table where she and Natsa was sitting. She uttered under her breath, "I never thought you would get a date before me~!" Then she cheered in delight, "Let's make you pretty~!"

Lucy grinned as she held up a makeup brush with a glint of teasing in her eyes.

Natsa's head darted from left to right at that statement. She experienced Lisanna's makeover once and she didn't want it AGAIN. "Never!"

"Awe! Come on, Natsa!" Lisanna pleaded. She turned to Sting, who was still in the middle of his victory dance. "Where are you taking her?"

"Somewhere nice..." he hesitated for a moment. He was too busy focusing on beating the two losers that he wasn't thinking of where. He opened his phone and looked at the contacts. For being in a guild that was at the top of its' gain for seven years allowed him to have numerous resources to pick from. Even for a last minute date he was sure to acquire for being in such good terms of them.

All he needed now was to know was where.


	2. White Dragon

Sting shifted his jacket and tucked his tie underneath the jacket. He looked in the mirror and smirked at his good looks. He combed his hair back. "How do I look?" he asked Rogue, who was playing with Fro on the floor.

Fro looked up and smiled at the blonde, while Rogue glanced over and went back to playing with Fro. "Isn't that a bit too much?" He rolled the ball on the ground and Fro leaped for it.

Sting snickered at his statement, "It's never too much." He moved his jacket again, "Plus it's my first date with Natsa-san. I got to look my best."

The other boy only shook his head but Sting didn't even notice; he was too busy at checking his looks in the mirror. "I heard you the first time." Ever since the blonde gotten back from the Fairy Tail guild, he heard about these plans nonstop Such as how Sting was going to toast to the girl, and escort her like a princess; he knew making Natsa do such things would be as hard as Gray keeping his clothes on.

Fro hopped on the ground as Rogue raised the toy above her head; he gave a small grin when Fro finally caught the small toy and rolled on her back.

Sting just smiled. Since he gotten home yesterday, he couldn't stop talking about today. He was just amazed at the chance of being with Natsa. Nothing could good wrong. Not when he gotten a table at the finest restaurant in the kingdom for him and Natsa could dine. He just had to call one of his contacts to reserve a table.

"Just don't forget your phone there like last time."

"Don't worry, I won't," Sting waved Rogue's statement away. He chuckled at the last time that happen when he was on a date with a fangirl.

There was a pause behind Rogue said something again. "Its five thirty…doesn't your 'date' start soon?" He emphasis the word date at the egomaniac blonde.

Sting glanced at the clock and cursed under his breath. He ran to the nightstand and grabbed his phone, slid it in his pocket and ran out of the door. He ran into some bystanders as he tried running to the nearest train station.

"STING!" the black haired yelled from their doorway. Sting glanced back and fell on his bottom. "You forgot your walle-ouch..."

"Oh shit!" he cursed as he ran back to the door. He grabbed the wallet out of his hands and thanked him. The blonde glanced at his eyes, "Rogue…will you please come with me, so I don't miss up?"

He sighed, "Okay, but you're paying for my meal."

"Deal!"

"Where's Sting-kun going?" Lector's voice filed the hallway.

Sting gasped and took Rogue's hand while running to the train station. He forgot to mention his date to Lector in case that cat decided to follow him to his wonderful date with Natsa. There was too much of a chance that Lector would ruin his date, so he kept the cat ignorant of the fact; which Rogue wished that Sting did the same for him and Fro.

…

"Happy, you can't go with her," Lisanna uttered as she tried to prowl Happy off of Natsa's head.

"Come on, Happy!" Natsa grunted. His claws were in her skin and he wouldn't not get off of her.

"No."

"I got fish," Lisanna pretended to look in her pocket. Her hand slide inside as she grinned at the blue cat.

"Where?!" Happy let go of Natsa's head and flew over Lisanna, who grabbed Happy before he could grab onto Natsa again. Tears started to form as Happy understood what happened. "It was a lie…?"

"Sorry," Lisanna shrugged her shoulders, "I will get you fish later, okay?" He nodded his head and his wings disappeared. The sliver haired looked back at Natsa and gasped, "You look better than I imagined. Mira-nee! Elf-nii! Come in here for a moment!"

The door opened and the two siblings came in. They were near the door to keep two jealous mages away from taking a peek at the pink haired. Elfman scratched his head, "Isn't it almost time for that boy to get here?" He turned his head and saw Natsa; his jaw dropped at what happened to he within such a short time period.

"You look beautiful~!" Mira cooed. She walked over to Natsa and moved a piece of her hair out of her eyes. "Awe~!"

"I did a good job~!" Lisanna squeezed Happy in pure excitement. He gulped for air.

"Sting-kun is going to be surprised once he sees her."

There was a door at the door and Elfman came back to his senses. He opened the door and there stood Evergreen. She was turned away as if she was unconcerned by what was going on in the room. "Ever?"

She turned and looked at Elfman's chest instead of his eyes. Her cheeks were red as if she was holding something back. "The cutie of a blonde is here," she said as she walked pass Elfman and into the room. She stopped and stared dumbfound at the pinkette; Elfman was wearing the same expression but at another problem that Ever caused.

"Is everyone going to have that reaction?" Natsa sweat dropped.

"Yes~! This is the first time you ever wore…pretty clothes," Lisanna answered as nicely as she could. Natsa always wore boyish and plain clothing, but now she was wearing a shiny blue dress with a lovely blouse covering her chest.

The pink haired pulled on her blouse. It was tight around her stomach area; she wasn't used to this feeling. "I like loose clothing better…"

Lisanna continued to smile as she tuckered Natsa's blouse back to place. "Just handle it for tonight."

"Can I go now? That bastard's here already."

"You can't call him bastard on your date~!"

Natsa ignored her and went out of the room; passing Ever and Mira. She walked out into the guild hall with Lisanna and there were gasps everywhere. The biggest one came from a certain blonde who was holding a bunch of pink flowers.

Behind him was Rogue who was pushing Sting forward since he lost the ability to walk. Not only was Rogue controlling Sting, he was holding two exceeds who were caught while trying to be sneaking.

"That's Natsa?!"

"That room must be magical!"

"Is it her twin?"

"She looks good!"

"Take a picture! It will never happen again!"

Ever rolled her eyes and looked at Mira who was just staring and smiling happy at her sister's work. "I don't see what the big deal is." Ever lifted her glasses and went into a pose as if she was looking in a camera, "I look better than her~!"

Gajeel growled from his table and spilled his drink on the top. He hated the blonde more than ever. He looked over his shoulder to check on the raven haired but he wasn't in the guild. 'Probably went ahead...' he thought.

Elfman poked Mira and whispered into her ear, "Her dress is caught…"

Mira looked at Natsa's back and indeed her dress was caught on her bra. Mira walked quickly behind Natsa and made a slight twitch in her clothing. The pink haired gasped and shouted at Mira, who just shrugged and went back to her spot in the staring crowd.

"Have a good night, my child!" Master whistled from upstairs. He had a blush over his cheeks and nose.

Rogue walked away from the couple and went to Lisanna who still had Happy in her arms. "Here," he handed her Fro and Lector; who was complaining about not being able to go with Sting. Now she was holding three exceeds. One complained and grabbed out for Sting's attention; who was still drooling at Natsa. One had his stomach growled and wished for fish. The last one wore a frog suit and looked into the air as if she could see butterflies.

"Wha-?" she gasped as she tried to hold all three of them. She looked up, but Rogue already turned around.

He poked Sting to get him back to normal. He wiped the drool on his lips and took Natsa's hand as he walked out of the guild. "My lady," he opened the door. Rogue followed behind them at a slow pace.

All of the guilds in the room awed and wished they had a boyfriend like that. Lucy pouted but she wished the pink haired good luck. Lisanna waved Natsa away and smiled at her work; she was a bit bothered by the fact that she didn't notice the sparkly dress was caught.

…

"We got a table reserved for two," Sting smirked as he had his arm around the pink haired; who was still trying to figure out why the blonde was touching her in the first place.

The waiter nodded. He knew who the blonde was; there wasn't anyone on this Earthland who didn't know him. He made a check next to Sting's name on the piece of paper; it was the last name on the list but it had more importance than the others on the list. He picked up two menus and took the lovely couple to the finest table in the center of the restaurant.

The table was covered in the whitest cloth in the kingdom. The lights were low to give a soft look over the place; the ceiling was shaded in a deep purple.

"This is nice…" Natsa stated as she took a seat opposite of him.

"Only the finest for my lady," Sting smiled as he looked at the menu. "Can we get a glass of…Lite Dr. Pepper and Spicy Dr. Pepper."

"Of course, my sir," the waiter bowed and left the two alone.

"What would you like? I will pay for everything," he patted his pocket that now carried his wallet; thank for Rogue.

"Then…everything," she smiled as her stomach growled. He nodded but he barley paid attention to the total cost of the bill afterwards.

The waiter came back with the two drinks. "Have you decided?"

"Yes, I will have the steak and a side of fish, and she wants everything."

"Everything?" the waiter questioned with a twitching eyebrow.

"Everything," Natsa repeated with a bright smile. She could eat anything right now. The waiter bowed and took off to give the order to the chef in charge.

Sting stared at Natsa. He couldn't believe it. After growing up looking up to Natsa his role model, he was now dating her. He was so young when he heard of her adventures; they were eight years apart. She disappeared for seven years and now they were only one year apart. He wasn't a small child who followed listened to her wonderful tales from his guildmates.

He just couldn't believe it.

"Sting…you're drooling," Natsa said as she looked up.

A blush appeared on his cheeks and he wiped away the drool again. He just couldn't stop drooling from the sight of her beauty. Maybe Lisanna did a too good of a job on her. "You just look amazing."

Natsa squinted her eyes and a tiny but visible blush appeared on her cheeks; she was more embarrassed than everything. She wasn't one to fawn in the looks department, nor was she one to receive compliments. "…So do you…?" she posed it as a question.

The blonde took a drink of his drink and thought of something to talk about. Grand Magical Games. That was the first thought he had. "You did great at the Games."

She smiled from ear to ear. "Course I did! I can't wait for this year Grand Magic Games! I can't wait to see everyone again!"

"You know you could just go visit them instead of waiting once a year."

"Yeah, I know. But then I can see how much they became stronger when we fight."

"Just don't take the King's crown again. He had everyone guard searching for it."

"Can't promise that. He has like billions of them in his room. I don't see why I couldn't just take one."

"Maybe because that is the castle's treasury?" Sting raised his eyebrow.

She puffed and a piece of her hair lifted up. "But it's the people's gold! I'm people!"

"No, you're person."

Three waiters came up to the table and placed ten plates on the table. "Do you need anything else?" the main waiter asked.

"No, this is fine," Sting answered. This was more than enough for him just sitting across from Natsa.

The waiter nodded and left the table with the other two following him. One of the waiters picked up another tray of foods for a table of three. He carried it to the table at the side of restaurant where three young males sat and watched a table from afar. "Here's your meal."

"Thanks," said Rogue. The waited placed the plate in front of him and the other two; then left the table.

Gajeel used his hands and took a large bite of his fish. He glanced at the other table where the couple dined. "They are getting to close."

Rogue ignored him and went back to eating his meal that Sting was going to pay for. For some weird reason he found himself dining with two mages that appeared out of nowhere.

Gray asked kindly to dine with him since they didn't have any more tables open.

Gajeel, on the other hand, just grunted and sat at Rogue's table.

He couldn't say that he rather eat by himself, but the other two just sat there and ordered; two more bills for Sting to pay since Rogue was sure that the two didn't have enough to afford anything on the menu.

Gray stared at the couple and his lip twitched when Sting moved closer to Natsa's end of the table. He looked and saw the waiter was heading back to their table. He lifted his finger and casted a spell; making the floor ahead of the waiter turn to ice. The waiter didn't even see when he stepped on the ice and slide forward; right at Sting's table.

He tripped when the ice ended and carpet started, landing right into Natsa's lap. "I'm so sorry, madam!" the waiter said as he stood up and gave Natsa a cloth to wipe the spilled spot on her dress.

"It's fine," she said. It wasn't like she liked this dress or blouse. Erza. She shivered and remembered Lisanna borrowed this outfit from Erza. If she seen the stain…Natsa would be dead. She used the cloth and tried wiping the spot away but it stayed. 'Lisanna…please tell me you have stain remover,' she thought.

"Here, I got it." Sting gotten up from his chair and spitted on a cloth. Then he patted the stain until it cleared.

"Wow, thanks," she said. Now with the stain gone, she could give it back to Erza without a problem; well, she would have to wash it and then give it back to the red haired.

He looked up at Natsa; their eyes locked and he stayed there kneel on the ground.

"That asshole," Gajeel growled. He looked at Rogue, "Give me your fork." Rogue ifted his eyebrow but obeyed Gajeel's strange demand.

Sting leaned in and his lips puckered while Natsa just stayed there with raised eyebrows. He leaned closer and closer in.

Gajeel opened his mouth and chew on the fork until it turned into a metal ball. He opened his mouth and it shot out right at Sting; who got hit and bit his tongue as he slammed into the table. He lifted his head and looked back but Gajeel hide his face behind the menu and Gray leaned under the table from Sting's view.

"Who the fuck did that?" Sting cursed. He looked down to see what impacted his head but it was gone. He lifted his body up from the ground and dusted his pants off. The moment was now ruined.

Natsa tilted her head. She had no clue what Sting was doing in the first place nor why he acted the way he did.

Gajeel glanced back at Gray with a smirk, "And that's how you ruin a date, moron."

Gray's eyebrows came together. He really wanted to punch that smirk off the Iron Dragon Slayer's face.

"Something hit me… Who would mess with me, the Twin Dragon Slayer?" Sting questioned out loud. His mind drifted to the duo of jealous lovers, but there was no way they could be here. They were poor; they couldn't even afford a glass of water at this place so there was no way in hell they could be here.

Natsa looked around the room and she spotted the black haired. "What is Rogue doing here?"

Sting scratched his head. He was hoping Natsa wouldn't notice his companion. "Uh…A third person was free…?" his smile twitched; he hoped that she would believe him.

She nodded her head, "Why doesn't he sit with us?"

"He...likes eating alone...?"

Rogue's shoulders slumped, "Moron..."

Natsu finished her fifth plate and moved on to her sixth. Sting was still on his third. They continued their meal and ordered dessert afterwards. When Sting paid for the meal, he was surprised at the price; it was as if he was paying for fifteen people even though he and Natsa ordered for nine. His eyebrow lifted; maybe Rogue gotten hungry and ate enough for six.

"Natsa-san, let's go somewhere next week too," he smiled charmly.

"Yeah," she groaned from the amount of food she ate.

...

Sting dropped Natsa off at her house. Inside of her wooden shack was Happy playing Go Fish with the other two exceed. Fro had her cards upside down and she smiled when she saw Sting.

"Sting-kun! I missed you!" Lector hugged his leg; never thinking of letting go.

Sting itched his head and picked up the exceed. "Come on, Fro. Rogue's already at the house." She smiled and flew on his shoulder. Sting hugged Natsa with one arm since he was carrying Lector. "See you soon."

"Bye Sting. Thanks for the food," she smiled.

"You had food without me..." Happy pouted on the ground. Natsa walked over to him and handed him a fish she stuffed into her blouse. "Thanks!" he smiled as he happily bite into the fish.

Fro looked at Sting, "Fro have fish too?"

He smiled; he had to look kind in front of Natsa so he patted her head, "Yeah, we will run by somewhere to get you both some fish." Even though that restaurant wiped out most of his money.

Lector had tears swelled in his eyes, "Sting-kun is so kind!"


	3. Black Steel

Clothes flew in the air, and piles tumbled down. A certain black haired was in the middle of the room scattering pieces of clothing all throughout the room. A flying exceed was hitting the pieces of clothing that came within his area; they folded in midair and placed themselves on the counters inside of the room.

For once, Gajeel was sort of cleaning his room; even through Pantherlilly was doing most of the work.

It has been two days since Sting's outing with the pinky, and Gajeel searched his room for a certain two items he brought a month ago. He had no clue what to do on his date with Natsa, but he remembered these two paper items that she may enjoy with him. It wasn't something fancy like Sting's date, but it was all he could think of at last minute. He was just glad he brought two of them for him and Pantherlilly to go in the first place; which the exceed was okay with staying home and not going.

"Fuckin' found it!" he raised the two items in the air.

Two tickets to a boxing match.

Both he and Natsa enjoyed fighting; but it was more of them fighting themselves and not watching other people fight. But it was the closest thing he could get without laying a hand on Natsa; which he knew wasn't a good way to start a date. And he wasn't really one to know about dates or anything; he usually hanged in a pub or the guild hall.

For his next date, he could bring her to a pub. With her drunk, she would be easy prey.

Pantherlilly flew back down to the ground as he knew Gajeel wasn't one to finish cleaning the room. He sighed; it seems it would be his job to finish the cleaning of the room while Gajeel was out. "Gajeel-san, shouldn't you ask her out first?"

Gajeel gulped. It was bad enough he was trying to find a date, but he still hasn't even asked her out in the first place. His cheeks blushed, and he wasn't one to be embarrassed easy.

But this was an exception.

He was going to ask the Pinky out.

Lilly nudged Gajeel's head. To the exceed, it looked as if his partner has malfunction. Gajeel shook his head and the blush went away as quickly as it came. He took a deep breath.

It's not going to be that hard; right?

"The match should start at five, so you will have some time beforehand with her if you ask her out right now," Lilly instructed. They were acting as if Lilly was the coach and Gajeel was the boxer.

Gajeel nodded his head. He took another deep breath and his grip on the tickets tighten. He opened the door to his shack and ran out.

Pantherlilly stood there in the doorway and glanced back at the mess that Gajeel made from his mad dash. All of the work he just completed was gone. This was going to be a long night for him.

"I better get started…again…" he sighed and transformed to his larger form.

…

Gray seated himself at the bar and Mira served him. She looked from his hunched form to Natsa; who was sitting in her normal spot in the guild hall. Ever since she had a date with Sting, Gray has been tensed and away from the pink haired.

Mira gently smiled at him and gave him a vanilla shake; on the house. She knew exactly what was wrong with him.

He was jealous.

She couldn't help but give a sweet smile. It just warmed her stomach whenever she witnesses these things happening. 'He must have finally noticed his feelings to Natsa,' she thought with a small cheer. She opened her mouth to give the youth some advice, but that was when the doors slammed against the walls. Everyone looked up to see a panting Dragon Slayer who was hunching over.

Gajeel looked up and his eyes went directly on the pink haired; that he then ran over to. This was when Natsa finally noticed the black haired. She turned around and faced him.

"What do you want?" she asked. She cracked her knuckles because usually by then they started fighting, but instead, Gajeel stayed in his place with two pieces of paper in his hands.

"Come on, we are going somewhere," he looked at the ground.

The whole guild went silent.

Gajeel.

Just.

Asked.

Natsa.

Out.

This shocked everyone within the guild.

Just two days ago, she was asked but by Sting; and now it was Gajeel out of all people!

Loke dropped his sunglasses onto the ground as he stared wide eyed at the two. His eyelids fluttered as he turned to look at Gray, whose head smacked against the countertop. The orange haired bit the inside of his mouth; him and Mira couldn't help but feel for him.

Elfman dropped his fork onto his plate. Lisanna gasped and she just stood there motionless. Cana waited a moment before gulping down her barrel of beer.

Master lost his balance on the railing on the second floor, and he fell down face first behind the bar.

Levy's eyes widen as her whole body froze. Nothing made sense in front of her. Jet spitted out his drink while Droy laid his hand on Levy's shoulder.

Everyone was waiting for Natsa's reply.

Natsa's eyes narrowed. For some weird reason she felt there was something behind that. "Why?" she asked as she laid her cup on the table and stood up.

Gajeel continued to look at the ground; he wasn't even daring to look at her in her beautiful eyes. He scratched his head and he thought of some sort of answer. "Because…I didn't want to waste my money," he waved the ticket in his hand. As soon as those words left his mouth, he regretted it. How the fuck was that romantic? If he could bang his head against the wall, he would.

"Tickets?" she questioned as she took a step forward trying to look at the pieces of paper. Gajeel thought she moved for something else and he grabbed her hand and ran out the door; not even waiting for her to say anymore.

Even when they left, the guild remained quiet. They couldn't believe their ears. Evergreen broke the slience. "I can get more guys than that." Which gotten everyone out of their shocked state. Ever leaned on the wall next to her team, the Thunder Tribe.

Bickslow laughed as if she just uttered the funniest joke ever; but this was his normal laugh. "Elfman counts as one, Ever!"

She grunted while a blush appeared on her cheeks. She turned away from her teammates table. Elfman just stared plainly at his plate as if it was a portal to another world. His fork laid there with his half eaten food.

"Did that really happen?"

"Two in one week!"

"Gajeel?! Out of everybody?!"

"Natsa…she has finally grown up." Someone teared up.

"A player! That's what she is!"

"He just didn't want to waste his tickets, that's it."

…

Gajeel ran with Natsa in his hand. He wasn't even looking back because he knew there was would be an angry dragon.

"GAJEEL! STOP!" Natsa shouted. Her hand turned into fire and he let go of her.

He waved his hand as he tried to blow the fire out on his sleeve. "Ouch! What the fuck was that for?!"

"Where are you taking me?!" she growled and glared at him. "What? You want to fight? If so, I'm all ready!"

Gajeel smacked his head at her remarks. "Can't you see I'm trying to be…nice and taking you to a boxing match." Those words felt strange in his mouth.

"Why me?" she questioned. It wasn't like the black haired even liked her.

"Because…Lilly didn't want to go, and I didn't want to waste the tickets. There. Can we go now?"

"Levy?"

"Shrimp doesn't like fighting."

Her eyes narrowed, "You are acting really strange… Are you sick?"

He blew a piece of hair out of his eyes. "I'm sick of being questioned to death."

She rolled her eyes, and then thought about what he said. "Wait. A boxing match? The one against Clawed Tiger and Scaled Beast?" Her eyes widen with excitement.

He smiled from her look. "Yeah, it's them. Why, you like them?"

"They are awesome!"

Gajeel looked at the tickets. "Well, we have a hour before the match, so why don't we look around." That was the only thing he could think of doing at the moment.

She nodded her head of pinky curls. They were downtown, while the ring that hosted the match was underground nearby. Lights were buzzing and people were cheering. Even though it was only five, it was getting dark. Shops turned on their lights and welcomed customers inside from the cold weather.

Gajeel patted his pockets. He barely had any money to his name since he always brought some beer at the guild hall and at the pubs, or he had to split it with his teammates. He just hoped that she didn't see anything she liked or else he wouldn't be able to pay for it.

Natsa went up to the windows of the nearby shops. People cheered from within the stores with their friends and family. Drinks were poured and served to the tables. Girls helped each other with their clothing. Unique items lined up on the shelves. Magical items flowed and children gleamed at them.

It was a wonderful night to see.

"I never been down here at night," he uttered from all of the lights. Whenever he came down, it was still light and crowded as Black Friday that he never enjoyed the time. But for once, he was enjoying every second of the time he spent with Natsa; except he was cold.

He tried to stay close to Natsa; he was freezing to death without her warmth. Maybe it was a good thing she breathe fire. He wished he could get closer to the Pinky; he blushed at the thought.

"Oh look!" she cheered as she pointed to something that caught her eye. She raced up to the next window and peeked inside, but when Gajeel didn't show up, she glanced backwards. Gajeel shivered as he stood across the street.

She felt a bit pitiful at her rival since he had no warmth. She returned to his side, but much closer than before. Somehow there hands came and clasped together.

Gajeel raised his eyebrow at the contact, but Natsa pulled him along the sidewalk. "You dragged me here, so payback." She taunted, but to Gajeel it felt like something else.

Until it was brutally interrupted.

"Excuse me. Can I get through?" A deep voice cut in the middle of them. "There's people who's tryin' to walk here!"

Their hands unclasped and fell to their sides. The man with a large amount of clothing passed them; his head was covered where only his eyes were visible. Gajeel sniffed the air; that man's sense was familiar but he couldn't put his finger on it.

"Eh?" Natsa questioned.

"You caught it too?" he asked.

She nodded her head. "I remember it from somewhere…" she mumbled under her breath. The space was filled with sweets and other people, that the scent was lost within it; and it smelled like he layered himself in clone.

A bell chimed in the background, and Gajeel jumped. He looked at the clock. "It's six. We got to go. Fast."

She smiled and started running towards the building, which lead underground to the match.

The Iron Dragon Slayer growled and raced forward. For once they were rivaling in something that wasn't fighting. They were having fun at it as well.

Natsa beaten him to the building; she was waiting outside as if she just been waiting there all along.

He smirked and pulled out the tickets. He handed them to the attendant at the cashier. She torn off one side of the paper and handed it back to him. He handed Natsa the other ticket and they passed through the doorway.

The first thing that hit him was the heat inside of the building; and then the smells of sweat, blood, and other juices. Pinky was excited. She wasn't disgusted by the gross smells that echoed off the walls. She hurried down the hallway and into the room. He followed after her.

"This row?" she questioned. It was the second row in the room. Right up close to the stage to see the action.

Gajeel nodded his head and sat at the very end of the row. Other seats were filled as the match was starting in five minutes. Natsa chose the one next to him since the other seats were filled.

"I can't wait to see them!" she cheered. Her hands tighten on the armrests.

"I been waiting all month for this," Gajeel remarked. He did numerous quests to gain the funds to attain the tickets for him and Pantherlilly. But then they got lost in his room, and gave the other one to Natsa instead of his exceed. "Who do you think will win?"

"Scaled Beast," she answered without thinking.

"Course he will win. He's the Beast at this game," Gajeel countered. Under his breath he added, "I even used the rest of my money to bet on him."

Natsa gave a small smile as she turned to him. "And I get half if he wins~!"

"Third."

"Half."

"Fifth."

"Half."

"Sixth."

"60 percent."

His nose wrinkled, "That's higher than half!"

"Okay, there, we settled on half."

Behind them, where the betting was going on, were two boys with light colored hair. One blonde had a pile of money and he handed the bundle to the man who was dealing the bets. "I will get 250 on Clawed Tiger."

The orange haired, who stood behind him, rolled his eyes. "I will get 50 on Scaled Beast."

The blonde narrowed his eyes at Loke. "As if he would win."

"I'm betting all of my money on him, so he better."

"You only have 50?" Sting chuckled. This guild, Fairy Tail, was freaking poor by his standards. But, then again, he was using the last of his money on this bet. That dinner date with Natsa wiped out all of this funds. Maybe he shouldn't had invited Rogue along.

Loke smirked and lead his way to his seat. He was only here for good friend of his, Gray; and somehow he ran into Sting at the doorway. His friend was beyond help, so he figured it wouldn't matter much if he came along to spy for Gray; in his place.

Sting took the spot next to him. He looked around the room, but he didn't see Natsa, so he pulled down his coat and hat. His body reeked of clone that bothered his scent of smell; but it didn't seem like the other two noticed.

He just saw them running into this building, so he bought these tickets for tonight's match. He came to snoop on Gajeel's date; even though it was against the rules. Loke was doing the same thing for Gray, so why shouldn't he? Plus, he felt like one of them was there on his dinner date, but he didn't know which one.

Loke fliped opened his phone and started typing to one of his girlfriends. 'Thanks for lending me that cash on short notice.' He press sent and a new message appeared as quickly.

'It's no prob. Can't wait to c you 2night ;)' she texted back.

Sting rolled his eyes at the player's ways. "Which girlfriend is that? Sixteenth?"

Loke shook his head, "It's my first…for tonight."

The lights dimmed down in the room and spotlights shined on the arena. There were two people on opposite ends in the arena with their couches outside of the ring. Gloves were on their hands and a mouthpiece planted in their mouth.

On one side was a man in green shorts. He was the Scaled Beast. At the opposite end was the Clawed Tiger who wore orange with big black stripes. The two faces together and the crowd roared.

"Go Tiger!"

"Get him, Beast!"

"I got all of my savings on you!"

"You better win!"

"Go Beast! You can do it!"

Sting elbowed the orange haired. "So…how does this work?"

Loke shook his head at Sting's ignorance at this sport. "It's simple. Two guys wrestle, and whoever last stands is the winner. The ref will count down and there will be three rounds. Two out of three wins the match."

The ref started the match and the boxers moved in to the center of the arena. They circled each other; waiting for the other to strike first. The crowd roared as the Tiger took a punch to the gut. Natsa jumped from her seat and cheered.

…

Gajeel looked at his stack of money, but then his smile disappeared as it was cut in half and given to Natsa.

Sting growled with anger at his loss while Loke counted his earnings. Sting was now officially broke.

"Whoa!" Natsa shouted. She waved the wob of cash in the air. "Beast was a freakin' beast in there!"

"Look at how much money we won!" Gajeel pocketed his cash. Hey, just maybe, Natsa was his good luck charm. "Pinky," he coughed, "Natsa, let's come back next week."

"Sure!" she excited.

"Then we can hang out at a pub afterwords. I know this fuckin' good place around here."

"Pub? Why not just go to the guild?"

"Cuz Sourpuss and Snothag is guardin' that place."

Her eyebrows lited. Sourpuss? Snothag?

Sting walked into a pole as he sighted the two leaving the room. Gajeel has already gotten his second date in the bag, yet Sting totally forgot to ask Natsa out again for their second. He fell down to the ground.

"Sting?" Loke called as he hunched over the man and waved his hand. "Oh man, he's knocked out…Guess I'm in charge of getting him home." He reached out his phone and texted his girlfriend. 'I can't make it 2night. Business came up.'

'Ah :( sory bout dat.'

He sighed and returned the phone into his coat pocket. He looked up and seen the pink haired that he was suppose to be watching all night for Gray; which he completely failed.

He picked up Sting and flung him over his shoulder; he was heavier than anything else he carried. At least the Dragon Slayer was asleep since they were getting on the train to get back to Sting's guild.

He passed Natsa and Gajeel as he made his way out. Natsa was thinking of the numerous ways she could spend the money in her hands. Think about all of that food she could buy.

"Pinky, you're droolin."

She glanced up, and wiped the drool away. She barely noticed it.

They walked out of the downtown area and neared the guild. The moon was bright in the dark sky and stars started appearing. He walked her halfway home and took off back to his place. He just knew this night was good. And he had another one planned for next week.

He paused. Maybe he should have walked her home. Isn't that how a date is suppose to end? He turned around and tried to reach her, but she was already inside.

'Reminder to self. Make sure Pinky's inside next time...' he thought to himself as he went back on the path.

Her head peeked outside, she felt like someone was there, but she saw no one.

Gajeel walked pass the river. His date was already set in stone; while the other two were still frailing around helplessly.

There was no way that Gray or Sting could beat him.

No one beats Gajeel. Except Natsa; of course.

He made it back to his house and flopped on his bed, "Hey Lilly."

He heard Pantherlilly groan as all of the piles of clothing that he just folded cluttered around the room.

Pantherlilly cleaned the whole room, yet Gajeel destroys it within five seconds.

Lilly's claws unsheathe and he glared at Gajeel; who gulped.

He messed with the wrong kitty.


	4. Icemaker

Gray sat in his new seat that was uncommon for him. He usually sat by Erza, Natsa, and Lucy; but now with that bet going on, he felt strange even being near the pink haired. Everything he glanced at her, he couldn't help but think about that bet. How was he supposed to date her?! She was Natsa; and they were rivals. She couldn't even stand sitting next to him on a train ride, let alone being by themselves on a date.

He was rival zoned unlike the other two. He was always the rival, or friend; he had no clue what Natsa thought about it. For Gajeel it was easy; he didn't know her for that long and so he wasn't totally zoned, like Gray. Gajeel and Sting were both Natsa's rivals; but she only knew them for a year or more. She knew Gray for seven years from when they first meet in the guild hall.

She knew too much about him for her to think about boyfriend status.

He sighed and took a drink from his shake. Why couldn't he just be smooth like always? Even Gajeel had a moment to ask her out, yet Gray couldn't even sit near her. He also heard the whole thing from Loke when he came back that one night. Gajeel took her out to a boxing match and Sting was there spying. Loke even had to cancel a date because of the blonde; which Gray had to now repay him.

The raven haired needed to get his ass in gear before the others gotten their second chances.

"Gray~? Is something the matter~?" Mira asked with her usually cheery tone. She leaned over the table and refilled his cup without being asked to. She handed him back the glass and glanced over to his normal table.

"Nope. Nothing," he answered quickly. He turned around so he wasn't faced with the sliver haired anymore.

Mira giggled and poked him. "Does it have to do with Natsa?" she suggested.

Gray's skin shivered.

She chuckled with her hand over her mouth. She guessed right. "Are you jealous from all of her dates lately?"

Now Gray finally turned around and looked at Mira. He wanted to yell something along the lines of how did you know; but that would have gave him away. Instead he relaxed his tensed body and allowed all sigh of emotion to drop from his face. "What do you mean? Like I care," he rolled his eyes.

She couldn't help but giggle at his reactions. He was such a little kid. "You better get her before they do, Gray. I heard from Loke that even Gajeel asked her out." She turned around and tilted her head, "I didn't even think he liked Natsa. He kept it hidden well." It wasn't like her, the matchmaker, to miss such details.

"Damn it, Loke…" Gray mumbled under his breath. Loke didn't just tell him, but the whole guild of Natsa's affairs. Even if it wasn't for him to hide that secret, Gray wanted to smash Loke's face in.

Gray just wanted to protect his property; Natsa.

"What's that?" Mira questioned. She knew she heard something, but she didn't listen to it.

"Uh-Nothing. Just a fly," he waved his hand in the air.

"You know, Gray, that it's every girl's dream to go somewhere wonderful with a guy she likes," a smile formed on her lips, "Even if the boy is one of her friends."

He looked up from the counter. His eyebrows rose as if that was supposed to mean something to him.

"Just go ask her out before it's too late, or else," she smiled with her eyes closed and went on to serve the others. Lisanna walked out from behind the counter and went up to Mira to ask her something.

Gray didn't want to know what else was supposed to mean. He just knew he didn't want it. His skin shivered, and he took another drink from his shake. Somewhere wonderful… Her words swirled around in his mind. Were all girls this confusing? He sighed and thought about it some more.

He had to ask Natsa out.

Or else the other two could get her before he could.

…

Natsa sat in her normal spot. People from the guild were leaving and only she, Lisanna, and Erza were left. Lisanna came over earlier when she heard the news from Loke; and Lucy had to drag him out of here before he spouted anything else.

The pink haired finished her plate and belched. Erza turned her head and glared at the pink haired; who gulped, "Sorry."

The scarlet haired nodded her head and finished her last piece of strawberry delight. Her eyes darted around the guild and right at Gray. "Why hasn't he been sitting over here?" she asked in a harsh voice.

"He hasn't?" Natsa questioned. She turned around and glanced at the raven haired; who ducked around quickly. She barely meddle into others, Gray's, affairs; but this was unlike him. "He's acting weird…"

Erza stood up from the table, "I will go get him."

"Erza-nee! Wait!" Lisanna halted Erza.

"What?" she asked with her eyes narrowed at her target, the raven haired.

Lisanna leaned in and whispered, "He's embarrass right now. I think he's too shy to be around Natsa."

The red haired nodded her head and slowly sat down again. She still had her sights on the raven haired across the room. Her glare was becoming stronger each passing minute.

Lisanna gave a quick smile at Erza's behavior. It wasn't like for the group to be sitting apart. Usually everyone was near each other and laughing. Lisanna would be sitting near Elfman or Natsa. And the others would be close. And now the cycle was broken with Gray sitting at the bar away from everyone.

"Maybe…he's mad?" Natsa suggested.

Both of the other girls chuckled at Natsa's remark. They knew more about this than the pink haired. Lisanna tilted her head and a smile formed on her face; the smile was very strangely looked like Mira's., "Natsa-chan, maybe you should go ask?"

The pink haired looked at the girl and was about to shake her head when Erza ordered her too. She stood up, defeated by the red haired, and slowly walked to the bar where Gray was sitting. She waited with each step. She wasn't one to be good with this type of thing. She let out a deep breath of air and sat down next to Gray. "What's wrong with you?"

He stretched back and turned to the pink haired. "I'm fine, okay?! How many people are going to ask me that?!" he complained. He opened his eyes and he noticed the pink haired. "Oh…hey Natsa…" he muttered after that.

"Hey….Iceblock…" she said slowly as if not to get on his bad side. "What's with you?"

He pushed himself forward in the seat and laid his head on the table. "Nothing. Just a long boring day."

"You're not sitting with us," Natsa added.

Gray's mouth dropped. He wasn't suspecting Natsa to observe that or anything about his behavior; even though Erza had to inform her. Gray picked up his head and tried to think of an excuse of some sort; but nothing came to mind. "Uh…I just didn't want to sit over there, Flamehead."

"Droopy eyes," Natsa commented.

"Flame for brains," Gray countered.

"Ice Princess," she gave a smug look.

He finally looked up and countered, "Red Ant."

"Strippe-" she was interrupted.

"Natsa~!" Lisanna came up from behind them. She looked at one to the other with a grin. They were talking again~! "Gray-nii~! Me and Erza-nee are going home. Bye~! See you tomorrow~!"

Natsa turned around, but the two were already out of the guild. Her smile vanished as she ran out to try to follow them. The doors shut behind her, and Gray followed; he felt like he had to. Outside, the two girls were already missing. "Where did they go?" Natsa bit her lip. She wanted to walk with them, but it was too late now. She was bummed out.

"I think they went to Fairy Hills…" Gray suggested. That was where Lisanna lived with her sibling and Erza did; so it was only logical.

Salamander stretched her arms behind her back and started walking away. She was heading home for the night since everyone was gone.

Gray stood at the guild's door and Mirajane's words entered his mind once more. He grunted and with all of his courage, he caught up with Natsa. She glanced over her shoulder and looked at him. Her face shifted into surprised by his appearance. Gray just walked forward; hoping not to embarrass himself. He could feel eyes on the back of his head; maybe Sting and Gajeel were watching them?

If they were, they were probably laughing their asses off with this awkward setting.

"…Mind if…I walk you…home….?" He phased it as a question.

"Uh…sure…?" she answered. She was really starting to get scared. She made a complete halt. "Are you Gray? Or a clone?"

"What?!" the raven haired exclaimed.

"Who are you and what did you do with Iceblock?" she asked once again.

He rubbed his head and looked at the ground. She was noticing his actions and he was shock. "I'm Gray, Pinhead. One and only."

"Well, you're acting weird…again," she stated. "Do you have a cold?"

"Nope, I'm fine. Haven't I been saying that?"

She rolled her eyes and sneezed.

"Bless you," he said. She nodded a thank you. They walked and Gray was starting to notice the time. "How far is your house?"

"Couple more miles, I think," she shrugged her shoulders.

Their shoulders touched each other, and Gray pulled back. Natsa didn't notice the touch or didn't care. She kept walking, and Gray walked at a slower pace than her. He didn't want to touch her once again; that would be awkward.

Natsa looked up at the sky. It was getting so dark that stars were appearing above them. "Oh look!" she pointed above.

"Hm?" he looked up. His mouth dropped as he looked at the numerous colorful stars in the night sky. There were more than he could imagine.

"One of the highlights of living out so far," she smiled.

"In the city, usually there are only three or four."

She glanced at him, "You should see the sunset. It's beautiful. Happy found this cliff and we set there in the mornings waiting for the sun to rose," she chuckled, "One time, Happy dropped his fish and I dropped up falling after it. Good thing Happy grabbed it before it hit the water, it was icy as hell."

"So…he left you and got his fish instead…?" Gray raised his eyebrow.

"Yep, it would have escape if it went into the ocean." She started to say something else, but Gray interrupted her.

"You risk your life for a fish?!"

"It was big though!" she argued.

"Don't you have common sense?!"

"What's that?"

"For a fuckin' fish! If you just ask, you know someone could have brought you a fish. Even I would have!"

"But I fished it out of the stream!"

"What does that got to do with anything?!" he asked.

"Everything." She stated calmly. Her skin started to heat up as she glared at the Icehead.

"You could have caught one the next day!"

"The stream was frozen that day!"

"Ice fish! You're a fire mage, melt the ice!"

…

The door to the shack opened, and Gray walked inside of the dirty room. He dropped Natsa in the bed and left. Both of them were covered in bruises and dirt from a fight they had in the field.

Happy looked up from his bed, "Natsa? What happen?" He wiped his tired eyes. There wasn't no reply so he went back to bed. A yawn escaped his lips as he covered his head with his blanket.

…

A message appeared on Gray's phone. _'That counted as a date.'_

"What the fuck?!" he yelled. _'I didn't even ask her out to one. That doesn't count.'_

_'Too late. We both agreed, and that's it.'_

Gray grunted and threw his phone on the wall. So much for a first date. Why couldn't Mira be less confusing and help him for once?! Why did his anger get the better end of him?! And it was over something stupid.

He laid on his bed and went to sleep. He just hoped she wasn't mad at him tomorrow.


	5. Tavern

Winter flakes float down from the sky. Each tiny piece melts a meter away from a certain dragon slayer. She sneezes and all of the snow surrounding the small group melts away.

"Bless you," Erza remarked with a cold tone. She crossed her legs and inched her seat closer to the table.

"That's a nasty cold you got there," uttered Lucy. "Don't get me sick."

Natsa turned wards Lucy and readied her next sneeze. "I don't think I can control that. Uh UH!" Lisanna turned Natsa's chair away before she could blow another sneeze.

"You were trying to get me sick!" Lucy exploded.

The pink haired only laughed at her failed attempt at the blonde. "But it was funny!"

Lucy turned wards the sliver haired, "Thanks for that."

"No problem," Lisanna said with a gesture of her hand. She turned to Natsu and sat back down in her seat. She pulled a napkin from the middle of the table and handed it to Natsa; who nodded her head and wiped her nose with it.

"Are you getting sick?" Lucy asked. "We haven't done a quest in awhile, so have you been staying out at night?"

Lisanna turned away from the group of girls and giggled. She knew exactly what Natsa has been doing the last couple nights; all of them stared at her. "What is it?" Erza demanded of the young girl.

Lisanna couldn't reply; she was giggling too much and Natsa answered for her. "Well, I have. Gray and I fought last night and...I don't remember much else. Just that I woke up in my bed the next morning and Happy didn't know anything." Natsa's face reddens from the cold; which everyone took as a blush. She turned away in time for another sneeze; this time no one made a fuss of it.

The blonde's eyes widen and she turned away just like Lisanna was doing. "You guys? Had a DATE?!" she squealed.

"A date?" questioned Natsa; she shook her head. "We only took a walk since you two left me there." Her eyes narrowed at Erza and Lisanna; but she remembered this was Erza and darted her eyes at Lisanna instead.

"You should have been faster," Erza stated plainly.

"And you live in the other direction from us~!" Lisanna pointed out with her sweet tone. She didn't want the pink haired to know that they did it on purpose for the raven haired.

"Didn't you have a date with Sting too?" Erza asked. She leaned on the table and looked straight at the pink haired.

"Yeah, what about it?" the pink haired asked plainly. "He took me out to dinner and we ate."

"I heard from Loke that she went out with Gajeel three nights ago," Lucy muttered. "You're dating all three of them?!"

"I'm not dating any of them," the salamander concluded. "And he took me out to see that one match I been wanting to watch."

"That is a date, though," the sliver haired stated.

"And so is dining together," the blond added.

"But we are dining together RIGHT NOW! We're not on a date!" Natsa stated. Her arms turned out and gestured to others in the small dinner; each one of them was looking strangely at the insanely loud girl. While others were looking at the table with a bloody nose.

"We are friends and its normal for girls to eat together~!" Lisanna cheerfully stated.

"And so are me and Sting." Even though there's bad blood in their relationship, but that was when they first met.

"He likes you. That's why he asked you out," Lucy muttered and shook her head at Natsa's obvious to the truth.

"And that's why Gray and Gajeel asked you out too."

Lisanna looked across the table at Lucy, who scooped closer to the pink haired. "Which one do you like more?"

Natsa's mouth dropped and tilted her head. "Why the fuck would you ask that?!"

"But why all three at the same time?" Erza muttered under her breath. She didn't even notice the pink haired glaring at the blonde.

Lisanna tapped on the table, covering her mouth with her other hand to stop herself from giggling at the blonde and pink haired. "Could they be planning something? I mean, weren't they all racing that one day when Sting asked Natsa out?"

"Racing?" questioned Lucy.

"Yeah, Gray and Gajeel piled up on each other at the door. They were yelling at Sting too."

…

"How did that even count as a date?" Gray asked the other two.

"It did," Sting said.

Gajeel was behind him and nodded as well, "It did."

Gray crossed his arms and sulked at the other two. "So it's like, if we even look at her, then it's counted as a date? Huh?" He asked sarcastic.

"Nope. Its counts whenever you friggin' ask her out, which I'm pretty fuckin' sure you did," Gajeel said as he leaned back in his chair.

"And you did spend time alone with her. So yeah, that's your first date. Like it or leave it. All of us still got a second date with her, so make it count…or not," Sting shrugged his shoulders and took a drink of his hot coco. "Since she's going to pick me."

"Sheez, I don't think she has any idea about this," Gray said.

"Then we all have a chance," muttered Gajeel. He took out some iron from his pocket and chew on it. Unlike the other two he had his date already schedule with the pink haired; next Thursday, just him and her at another wresting match.

Gray sat up in his chair and took a slip out of his beer. The other two stared at him for his sudden movement. He swurled his drink around and looked up at the other two. "What?"

"Nothing," muttered Sting. He leaned back in his chair once again and thought about his plans with Natsa. "Oh, that reminds me, Gajeel's paying this time."

"AS IF!" Gajeel barked. "You're the rich one, not fuckin' us!"

"I wish. That date with Natsa drained me dry. I even paid for Rogue, and his bill was massive."

Gajeel looked at his cup and stopped himself from laughing at the blonde's misfortune. He and Gray were the caused of the extra charged; while Rogue barely ate anything that day. Gray also had to look away from the blonde.

"What's with you two?" Sting asked.

…

Gray walked out of the bar. He left behind the other two. And he ended up walking right into Natsa. "Ouch!" she yelped as she fell back on her butt. "Man!" she opened her eyes, "Oh, it's you, Iceblock."

"Oh…sorry about that," he leaned over and helped her back up on her feet. He looked back at the bar; seeing if the other two were looking. He didn't want them to count this as a date as well. "Hey Natsa, I was meaning to talk to you."

"Well next time don't bump into me," she resorted.

"Well…" he paused, "…let's go out together tomorrow."

"Uh…What?" she questioned.

"Let's go to the fair. It's in town."

"Okay…" her eyes darted around as if this was some kind of a joke.

"Natsa! Wait for us~!" Lisanna said as she exited the café with the other two girls. She looked up and gulped when she saw Gray; moments ago they were just talking about him. "Hey Gray…I didn't see you there."

"I just…came from a…store…yeah, a store," he pointed at a building that wasn't the bar he just left. He turned and saw two faces with sinister smiles; the two guys knew.


	6. Icestripper

Gray paced in front of her door. He kept looking at the doorknob and reaching out before pulling it back. His heart race was racing. What if he was too early? Maybe she's asleep, or at the guild. Could she still be getting ready? He pulled his hands in his pocket and turned again; started pacing the other way.

Happy popped his head from the house and wrinkled his nose at the Icemaker. "Natsa, what is Gray doing?"

Natsa turned away from her kitchen and came behind Happy. She stared at the strange Ice shifter. "Stripper! What the hell are you doing?!"

Gray's head shoot up and he saw the two looking down on him. He itch his head and thought of some way to get out of this. "I'm…picking you up. You know, for our date, Flamehead."

Natsa nodded with a roll of her eyes. She left the window and traveled down the stairs. She threw on a light jacket that would protect her somewhat from the winter cold. Even though she was a Dragon Slayer, her body heat was lowering through the winter time. She gave Happy a last glance before opening the door. Ever since that strange conversation with Erza, Lucy and Lisanna, she kept getting unnerving feelings.

The door opened and she stood in front of Gray. "Come on, let's go."

Gray nodded but glanced up at the window. Shouldn't Happy be with someone, or was she going to leave him here by himself. "What about Happy?"

"He's visiting Carla…they are going out for fish," Natsa stated as she called on the memory of Happy telling her last night.

"Oh," Gray nodded and matched her pace. They walked down the sidewalk but there was a major distance between them, and Gray didn't dare to close it. He kept walking on one side of the pavement while she was walking on the other. They walked through the forest and over the bridge. A place where they used to duel each other. "Remember this old place?"

"The old fishing spot?"

'Please don't start any fight,' Gray repeated over and over. He remembered their last so-called date ended in a fight over a stupid subject; in which Natsa started because of her story. "This was the place where we fought. When we were younger."

"Oh yeah, I remember that. I would always beat ya!"

"As if," Gray rolled his eyes.

"You want a rematch? Huh, Iceblock?" she questioned as she cracked her knuckles.

'Oh fuck,' he thought. He was not going to start a fight with her. Not this time. He just wanted one actual date with her that didn't end up with them fighting. "Can't-"

"What? You're scared I'm going to beat you?"

"The fair. We have to get there before 4, or then there's going to be a large line on all the good rides."

"Oh…" she sighed and stretched his arms. And then a yawn followed her sigh.

The forest line soon ended, and the town came into view. Colorful balloons took up into the air. Clowns marched the road. Contests roared with action and completion. Trainers tame the loins inside of the cages and showed off their magic. Screams of delight filled the air.

They were at the fair.

As were others. The two sneaked behind Gray and hide behind a bush from the raven's hair sight. Gajeel lowered himself to the ground and muttered at the other. "I just fuckin' won that money. Why the fuck should I have to pay for your ticket?"

Sting glared at Gajeel. "Because I'm broke! I haven't been on a quest in two weeks and I freakin' lost all my savings…" He stopped himself from saying much more. He didn't want the black hair to know about his whereabouts on that night. The night that Gajeel had his date with the pink haired was also the night that Sting crossed their path and broke their hold.

It was also the night in which he lost all of his savings on a bet. The fight between the two wrestlers turned profitable for Gajeel, Natsa, and Loke; but it crushes Sting. "Rouge won't even lend me anymore money. Says I'm careless with it," the blonde finished. He hoped that Gajeel wouldn't notice his slight paused.

"Just don't get in my way, brat."

Sting couldn't promise that.

Natsa grabbed Gray's hand and raced forward. She wanted to get to the fair faster since Gray was going at a slower pace than her. Her feet stumbled against the pavement and she glanced back with a joyous smile firmly in place. Gray matched her pace once more and they were running side by side; hand in hand. Neither one of them noticed the contact until they reached the park. Natsa was observing her surroundings that she didn't see Gray pulling back with a slight blush on his cheeks.

He lifted his head up to see child cheering on a nearby ride. He pointed at it and elbowed Natsa to get her attention. "Let's go on that," he uttered in a cool tone; that didn't show any of what he was feeling.

He was finally having a date with Natsa, and if things go well, this wouldn't be their last one. Even though Sting and Gajeel still had a chance, Gray believed he got this in the bag.

That was until the two gotten on the ride.

It moved.

Natsa's stomach lurked.

Her face changed colors quickly.

And that's when Gray remembered she had motion sickness. He turned around his in shared seat with Natsa. The cart already lifted from the ground and they sat there inside of a small red ball that moved slowly forward. It halted to let another passenger inside of the next cart, but Gray was too high up to even get the attention of the person in charge.

"Stop the ride!" he yelled, but none heard him. He turned and looked at Natsa who was barely holding it in. The ride started to move once again and all of the seats were filled. Their cart rose higher over the rest of the city. He could see the forest from there; but he was too focusing on Natsa. She bent over onto his shoulder and held it within her mouth. Her stomach grumbled and her face paled.

 _'Get this ride over with. Quickly,'_ he thought. He lifted his arm and pulled her closer to him. He started patting her back in comfort. Hoping this would help some. With it came to anything like this, he was a lost cause. If only Erza was here. Then Natsa could have a short nap with a smack of iron glove. Or she could lose concussion from the pain inflicted by Erza's might.

"Just hold it. Just a little longer," he looked out the window. The cart started moving away from the sight and lowering itself back to the ground. He turned to face the person in charge of the machine; but without luck, the man wasn't even paying attention to him. "Fuck!" he slammed the cart with his other hand.

"I feel like I'm gon-" Natsa muttered and hunched forward as if she was expecting to threw up. Luckily nothing came. She covered her mouth quickly and leaned on Gray's shoulder.

The cart behind them was having the same problems. Two men suffered from their extreme motion sickness. They groaned and held their stomachs. The blonde bite his lip and tried thinking of something else. His stomach rolled and he launched forward and gagged.

The black hair held his face to the ceiling of the cart. He was so inclined into eating the cart just to get away. But his stomach lurked and he groaned more loudly than before.

He hates this.

He hates the fair.

And he hates this ride.

His claws unsheathed from his hands and he pressed them into the cart. Relieving himself of some pressure, but the cart ended up with a major hole instead.

Three Dragon Slayers rode this ride. They all suffered. After the giant wheel spun around on its axis for five times, it came to a stop. It slowly allowed people to exit, and finally they gotten to Gray's cart. Natsa crawled out and moaned. "I am never going to ride that again…"

Gray reached out and slowly pulled her up. She ended up leaning against his shoulder so he walked her to the nearest bench and laid her down.

"I forgot you had…motion sickness. At least you didn't throw up."

"So did I," she held onto her stomach. She was so in the mood that she didn't even think about this.

"Well…we could play some games instead of getting on one of the rides. Or, there's a scary house down that way," he pointed to the other end of the fair.

"Just give me a moment," she moaned. She pulled herself from the seat and all of those feelings of sickness left her. "Hm, let's go to the haunted house, then."

…

The manager of the ride opened the cart's door and two young man collapsed on each other. Gajeel quickly stood up and ran to the nearest bin and threw up. Sting followed him and did the same. They leaned against the bins and wiped the leftover on their faces.

"Never…"

"…again."

The dark haired slowly stood up and looked around. "We lost them."

"You lost them," Sting corrected.

"You was the one who freakin' wanted to catch follow them in here!"

"Then ya should have stopped me!"

A child pulled on his mother's arm. "What are those weird men doin'?"

The mother looked over at the two guys by the trash. She muttered under her breath and trotted her son away from the sight of the trashy men. She beckons the son forward whenever he tried to turn around and stare at the two.

"What's her problem?" Gajeel glared at her figure.

Sting shook his head and sniffed. As soon as that stench entered his nose, he felt like throwing up once more. He turned away from the bin and left. Gajeel followed with his nose covered. They were too consumed by the motion sickness that the scent didn't bother them.

…

Smoke rose from the ground and cluttered the air. It made the air thick and hard to see in; a perfect place for a scare. Gray held onto Natsa's shoulder and followed her through the smoke. With her Dragon Slayer hyper senses, she was able to travel through the fog without bumping into someone, or something.

"Are you sure you want to go in here?" he questioned one last time.

"Course. Why, you scared?" she taunted.

This annoyed Gray as his eyebrow twitched. "I just didn't want to hold your hand the whole time."

She rolled her eyes and took his hand off of her shoulder. "You won't have to."

"Natsa?" he questioned. He felt around but didn't feel anything. He turned right and walked forward; hoping to feel her. Within this fog that came from the haunted house, he couldn't see more than one foot in front of him. "Where are you, Flamehead?"

"Over here," a voice called, but it sounded too manly to be Natsa's. Against Gray's instincts, he followed the voice through the fog. His hands touch something and he felt against the figure's body.

No boobs, but six packs.

No hips, but a big budge.

"Oh fuck, sorry, I thought you were someone else," he quickly stated. The man laughed at Gray's idiotic. That laugh sounded too much like someone he knew. "Gajeel? Why the fuck are you here?!"

The man stopped laughing and slowly disappeared into the mist. Away from Gray.

He cursed and stomped his foot against the ground. This was starting to get on his nerves. His fingers sparked together and small ice icicles appeared. He slammed his hands against the ground and created a large boulder that rose above the fog. He looked around and spotted the haunted house. He was sure she was already there waiting for them; or even inside of the haunted house. He jumped down from the pillar of ice and followed the direction he spotted.

The mist started to thin out as he came closer to the large building. Now he could see in front of him and there she was. Natsa. She was waiting right outside of the doors with her foot tapping the pavement. "Took you long enough," she taunted and turned away from him. She entered the haunted house without him so he ran to catch up with her.

"Wait for me! Natsa!" he yelled as he entered a dark room. The lights flickered on and off. Smoke stayed close to the ground. Pieces of trash lined the walls. He looked around when the light came back on and seen her. He walked over to the pink haired girl. "Can't you wait for me?"

"Nope," she simply stated. "And next time, Gray."

"Yeah?" he questioned.

"Don't grope random people. Just because you can't see them, doesn't mean you have to right."

He blushed harshly at her statement. "I thought it was you!"

"So the first thing you do is grope tits? Shame. Shame on you," she teased.

He slammed his fist into the wall. A big dent. He turned back to Natsa. "Can't you just forget about that?"

"About what?"

He didn't know if that was a good thing or not, so he just stated never mind. It was better to get this topic over with and done.

They followed the path hidden by shredded pieces of cloth. Trash cans line along the walls. Clunk. Clunk. Clunk. Someone pounded against the metal cans. It grew louder and louder as they passed it.

Clang.

A man, wrapped in chains, appeared in the doorframe. The lights flickered and he disappeared.

Clink.

Chains rustled against the walls. Hands reached out and clasped.

Gray stood closer to Natsa as she led the way through. When they entered a dark hallway, she pulled off a piece of cloth and lit it with her fire magic. It burned and showed what was down the hallway. Skulls placed on top of each other. Eyes opening and closing within peepholes.

Clank.

Clank.

Cling.

Gray held onto her shoulder. She smirked as if she knew he would have done that. The cloth quickly burned out and they were alone in a dark hallway. The eyes within the walls glowed as they opened their eyelids.

A dumpster lid lifted and a head popped out. It bobbled from one side to the other. It's tongue stuck out and his eyes were floating beside it.

…

Once the visit to the haunted house was over, it was dark out and the fair was close to closing time. They chose one more activity before finally leaving the fair. Darts. They gotten three darts each and they were suppose to pop the orbs floating in mid air.

Natsa took a deep breath in and shoot the dart with her Dragon Breath. It hyped its speed and flew through the air at lightly pace. It cracked three orbs before landing on the wall. It made a deep impact on the wall; a dent.

Gray tried more carefully with his shot. He lifted it close to his eye and aimed it to its targets. It shoots through the air but at much lower pace than Natsa's. But in return, it was able to crack four orbs.

Natsa narrowed her eyes and picked up her second dart. There was no way in hell she was going to let Gray win. She winds her arm backwards and threw. It missed all but one orb. She turned and faced Gray with a smug look. TO add to the effect, she crossed her arms, "Beat that."

He blinked and nodded his head. With one thrust of his arm, his dart raced forward and hit the same amount as Natsa.

The pink haired jaw dropped. There was only one more dart left and she needed at least one more than Gray. She turned her hand on its palm and stream appeared. Her body glistens and she blew against the dart. It flew through the small store and hit each and every target. "Whoa!" she smiled and jumped. There was no way he was going to beat that.

And he didn't. He got the same amount as before, only missing one. But, he didn't lose either. They were both tied.

"Fuck," she cursed as the cashier handed the both of them stuffed animals. She gotten a Polar Bear, and he won a Black Bear.

…

Natsa was walked to her house by Gray. He waited till she stepped within the house to give her the Black Bear he won. Wasn't that something that boyfriends did? But he wasn't even her boyfriend; yet. He shrugged his shoulders. "I had a nice time with you."

The girl bites her lip, "I'm scared to say this…but for once I didn't want to choke you and throw you into a river. So yeah, it was a good time."

'Throw me into a river…?' Gray thought but didn't questioned it. If he even asked, all of the actions he done would have went to waste if he started a fight with her. He nodded his head, but she didn't say anything about having another so-called date within the future.

Would this be a bad thing?

Wasn't she was the one to invite him to the three date?

He cursed since she closed her door and turned off the lights already. He hoped this wouldn't damage his chances. Hopefully she doesn't make that move with the other two.

**Author's Note:**

> Hey, this is WhatifStoryTeller here! I'm new to this site, so hopefully this story tickles your fancy. There are three different endings, so shout out to me which one you want!


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